Making hybrid work: Productivity and intent in the public sector

Hybrid work has become an established part of how work is delivered across the public sector. What began as a rapid response to disruption has evolved into a new operating reality, one that demands far more intent than many organisations anticipated.

These themes were explored in a recent webinar co‑hosted by BDO and IPAA Victoria, where public sector leaders reflected on how hybrid work has changed expectations, behaviours and ways of working. The discussion reinforced a consistent message: hybrid work is not simply a policy issue, it is a system design challenge.

From a digital and organisational perspective, the agencies seeing the strongest productivity outcomes are not those offering the most flexibility, but those that are clear on why, how and when people work together.

Why hybrid work is here to stay and what it means for work design

One of the most significant shifts in recent years is that hybrid work is now an expectation rather than an exception. In practice, this changes the leadership task entirely. In Victoria, this shift is reinforced by new laws protecting an employee’s right to work from home, requiring employers to consider flexible work requests unless there are reasonable business grounds to refuse them.

When hybrid work was treated as a special arrangement, inconsistency was tolerated. Today, inconsistency creates friction. If some teams have clear structures and expectations while others operate informally, productivity and engagement quickly diverge.

Hybrid work consistently exposes weaknesses that already existed. Simply rolling out new tools or updating a policy does not address these deeper issues.

Effective hybrid work starts with establishing foundations. These include:

• Clear operating models
• Shared expectations
• Leadership capability.

Designing in‑person work with intent

In high performing hybrid teams, in‑person days are designed, not assumed. Leaders are explicit about why people are coming together whether for collaboration, problem solving or relationship‑building, and ensure the experience reflects that purpose.

Purposeful in‑person moments that accelerate trust, learning and delivery. Digital tools play a critical role here. Technology should support intentional ways of working.

Managing performance through outcomes

Hybrid work forces a fundamental leadership transition away from managing by observation and towards managing by outcomes.

In practice, this means making work visible through shared priorities, clear accountability and predictable communication, so progress is understood regardless of where people are working. When these elements are missing, hybrid environments amplify problems.

Leaders who succeed in hybrid environments invest time upfront in agreeing how work will flow, including how decisions are made, how progress is tracked and how people raise issues early.

Putting communication practices in place

One of the most consistent challenges in hybrid teams is the loss of informal communication. In traditional office environments, gaps are often filled through incidental conversations. In hybrid settings, those moments disappear unless leaders deliberately replace them.

This makes facilitation a core leadership skill. Meetings need clear outcomes. Decisions need to be surfaced explicitly. Follow‑ups need to be visible to everyone, not just those who happened to be present.

Simple, practical approaches can make a meaningful difference, including:

• Regular check‑ins
• Visible action lists
• Clear norms around availability.

Importantly, these practices support all team members, including those working remotely.

From a digital perspective, this is less about adopting new platforms and more about optimising the use of existing tools.

Building culture and capability in hybrid teams

Culture does not disappear in a hybrid environment, but it no longer forms organically. This is particularly true for new starters and graduates, who traditionally relied on observation and informal learning to build confidence.

In hybrid models, onboarding and development must be intentionally designed. High performing teams treat this as a collective responsibility, rather than relying solely on individual managers or Human Resources (HR) processes.

Intentional in‑person days, structured mentoring, visible learning moments and inclusive team rituals all help bridge this gap. Investing in culture in a hybrid environment is not about recreating the past. It is about designing connection that reflects how work happens now.

Treating hybrid work as an organisational system

Ultimately, the most productive hybrid organisations view flexible work as a system, not a perk, or a standalone initiative. That system brings together leadership behaviours, operating models, digital enablement and trust. When one element is missing, the whole arrangement becomes harder to sustain.

For public sector organisations, getting this right matters. Productivity, service delivery and workforce sustainability are increasingly linked. Hybrid work, when designed with intent, is an enabler of all three.

The conversation with IPAA Victoria reinforced that hybrid work is here to stay. The opportunity is to move beyond debate and focus on deliberate design, building structures that support people to do their best work, wherever they are.

How BDO can help

BDO works with public sector organisations to design hybrid working models that improve productivity, capability and connection. Our people advisory, digital and public sector teams support agencies redesign operating models, uplift digital ways of working, and build the leadership capability required to manage by outcomes rather than presence.